Club strengthening future with endowment campaign

Pam PratherBoys & Girls Club

Thursday

Sep 27, 2007 at 12:01 AM

The Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County opened its doors in 1993. After 14 years of providing quality programs, the club still welcomes young people from 6 to 18 years old for a $5 membership fee per year.

The Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County opened its doors in 1993. After 14 years of providing quality programs, the club still welcomes young people from 6 to 18 years old for a $5 membership fee per year. Providing services to children and families who need it the most continues to be the mission.

Today, the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County serves more than 1,400 youth annually from throughout the county, principally from low-income and fractured families.

The club has successfully combined vision and broad donor support to grow from a one-room building serving a few neighborhood children to a five-building campus of 25,000 square feet. Thirteen years ago, the annual operating budget was approximately $75,000. Now the operating budget exceeds $800,000.

The growth has been steady and responsible, and the organization approaches money management with a "lean and mean" attitude of thrifty, transparent stewardship.

Yet much needs to be done to ensure the future of the club. Advocates and supporters of the Boys & Girls Club believe passionately that the work must continue and grow. The board of directors, among the strongest supporters, has developed a strategic plan that calls for strengthening the club's future with an Endowment Fund.

The board began Phase I of its Endowment Campaign in 2003, and is hosting a kick-off event this evening to recognize past donors and announce Phase II of the campaign.

Endowment fund

The Endowment Fund is a vital component of the future, as it will give the club a stable foundation on which to grow and serve the thousands of unserved or underserved children in the community.

The club's vision is to continue the legacy of quality programs for all youth who need us.

Every child deserves:

• A safe place to go after school

• A place that is open when they need it the most

• A place that is fun

• A place that is clean and well-maintained

• A place that is affordable regardless of financial background

• A place with trained and professional staff

• A place that provides positive role models

• A place that provides life-changing programs

• A place that provides hope and opportunity

Positive results

Members experience one of the most powerful influences in their lives, positive direction from adult role models, staff and volunteers. Excellent, life-shaping activities are conducted each and every day.

Positive results also come from the daily access to a broad range of award-winning programs in five core areas: Education and career development; character and leadership development; the arts; health and life skills; and sports, fitness and recreation.

All programs are designed to foster:

• A sense of competence through being able to do something well

• A sense of usefulness through doing something of value for others

• A sense of belonging

• A sense of power and influence by knowing opinions are heard and valued

Donor perspective

Tom and Sue Fazio founded the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County and started the endowment with a $1 million matching grant.

"It is just natural that we want to direct our assets into a mission that will outlive us and be of significant help, not only to the individual children and parents who participate in the club daily, but also to the community as a whole," said Tom Fazio. "It is a great long-term investment because healthy children are necessary for a healthy community.

"But, we can not do it alone. Our intention is to match the contributions of other caring individuals so that together we can build an endowment to provide for the needs of children long after we are gone."

Endowment begins as visionary gifts from caring donors, and becomes lives changed and improved forever. For some, endowment means immortality, because the gift can provide benefits to others for years. For others, endowment is a way of sharing oneself to assist another as a steward of humanity. For the children, it means hope.

Pamela Prather is the resource development director for the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County.

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